Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are a hugely important
member of the powerful Nightshade clan, in
both economic and culinary terms. Introduction to Europe and Asia from their
home in Peru, potato eventually became a dependable staple in many countries
that had relied on failure prone grain crops. The bonus is that potatoes taste
really good and can be cooked in innumerable ways.
Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture = public domain.

Brought to Spain from Peru in 1565, potatoes were first grown as
a curiosity in botanical gardens. They were so obviously relatives of the
toxic black nightshade most people didn't taken them seriously as a food
crop. Spanish and French sailors, however, found eating potatoes
warded off scurvy, a much more serious threat than a little poisoning.

Sir Walter Raleigh brought potatoes to his Irish estate around 1589.
It is said they came from Virginia but that is probably wrong, they probably
came from a captured Spanish ship. The story is, he later sent some to Queen
Elizabeth. A royal banquet featuring potatoes was ordered, but the cooks were
not instructed. They tossed the root tubers and cooked the greens. There was
great sickness in court that day and potatoes were banned by order of the
Queen. I have not been able to verify this story, but even if it isn't true
it ought to be.

Another story is that potatoes were introduced to Ireland from ships of
the Spanish Armada, wrecked by storm on the emerald shore. Both stories
could be true.

Germans were the first to take potatoes seriously as food, in hopes of
supplementing failure prone wheat crops. They tried very hard to make bread
out of them and that didn't work ("potato bread" is almost all wheat). Having
failed, but with substantial plantings, the Germans tried feeding potatoes
to their pigs. The Germans, figuring that
many pigs could not be wrong, learned to boil, fry and bake potatoes as
vegetables.

A Frenchman named Parmentier learned about potatoes in Prussian POW camps
during the 7 years war. He introduced them to France by agreement with king
Louis XVI. The French found their dogs wouldn't eat them so would have
nothing to do with them. Parmentier planted 100 acres of the king's land
with potatoes and the king's soldiers kept them under 24 hour armed guard.
One day the soldiers were given the night off and potatoes were soon growing
all over France.

In Ireland potatoes became particularly important after the English
conquest of the early to mid 1600s. The English took all the good land,
all the money, cut the forests to build ships and shipped most food crops
directly to England. The Irish, left landless and unemployed, had nothing
to do except eat potatoes and procreate. This resulted in a huge population
increase. Then came the potato blight of 1845 to 1849. The population was
reduced by about half (from around 9 million to a bit over 4 million)
through starvation, disease and emigration.

Though brought over by Irish immigrants, potatoes were still viewed with
suspicion in North America until about 1900 when a potato variety developed
by Luther Burbank became widely grown in Idaho. It was soon accepted in most
of North America.

Potato developers continue to experiment with new varieties and cross
breeding with ancient varieties from Peru and Chile (our commercial potatoes
are mostly of Chilean ancestry). We now have potatoes of many kinds,
sizes and colors with different flavors and cooking properties to chose
from.

Washington State University (P1) lists 575 varieties
of potato grown in North America. Thousands more are grown in Peru alone and
more than 5000 worldwide. Those listed here are typical of the types sold in
North America. The exact variety can be critically important to food
processors and fast food chains, but home cooks can just go with the
general type and be fine.

A note on names - not only do many older varieties go under different
names in different regions, newer varieties often have names trademarked by
the developers. Other developers may produce almost identical potatoes but
must call them by a different (often similar) name.

Of course, the cultivars I have listed here are all North American
since that's what's available in my local markets. For British varieties
see the excellent Potato Council Web site.
Australians have some of each and then some.

These potatoes have thick, rough (russeted) medium brown skins, low
sugar and a high starch content with amylose starch predominating. They have
a dry, mealy flesh and are preferred for baking and mashing. The photo
specimens were 5.4 inches long and 2.7 inches wide, weighing 10-5/8 ounces.

These should never be wrapped in foil for baking. They should not be
used in soups and stews unless they are primarily a thickener because they
will disintegrate. They are very good for frying - some cooks feel they are
the only potato worth frying. Baking potatoes have good storage properties
and can easily keep for weeks in a cool dark place with good air circulation.

The common Russet Burbank was developed by Luther Burbank as a blight
resistant potato for Ireland, since the Irish would apparently rather starve
than eat any other kind - and russets are the only kind used there to this
day.

Boiling Potatoes: - [Maine
Potatoes, Eastern Potatoes, Round White, Red Bliss, Red la Soda, Superior,
Katahdin, Ontario]
These potatoes with smooth thin skins come in a variety of colors but
all have a firm, almost waxy flesh. They are relatively low in starch with
amylopectin predominating and have a relatively high sugar content. Actual
performance for boiling is specific to varieties but they generally stay
firm.

They are almost never baked and don't work well for mashing either,
producing a heavy, lumpy mash. They are best where you want potatoes,
slices or cubes to remain intact through wet cooking, particularly in soups
and stews. Round white potatoes predominate in the Northeast US while only
red varieties are found in the Northwest and California.

Round whites are the potatoes called "Maine" or "Eastern",
but all these terms are highly deceptive. Atlantic, for instance, is
a "round white" potato widely grown in Maine, but it is suitable only
for potato chips and isn't any better for boiling than a Russet.
Fortunately it only occasionally enters the fresh potato market
because most are shipped directly to chippers, but when they do it
can mean disaster for a dinner recipe. Plenty of russets are grown
in Maine.

Red boiling potatoes grown in California and the US Southeast.
They're round potatoes with deep red skin and white flesh. Peak season is
winter and storage properties are good. Excellent boiling potatoes with
very good flavor.

The photo specimens were, for the largest, 3.75 inches
length and across x 2.7 inches thick. The smallest was 1.6 inches long
and across, 1.4 inches thick and weighed 1-1/4 ounces.

Red Bliss -
[Bliss Triumph]
This potato is markedly red with a thin, slightly flaky skin and
crisp white flesh. They are grown in California primarily as a
"New Potato" and are also grown farther north and into Canada. They
are much in demand by chefs and gourmets and are called for by all
upscale food writers. Red Bliss potato chips are featured at
Trader Joe's and other vendors to the yuppie class. I haven't seen
any fresh ones in Los Angeles, they're probably all shipped to cities
like New York and San Francisco where higher prices are more welcome.

All Purpose Potatoes: -
[California Long White / White Rose, Kennebec, Yukon Gold]
These smooth skinned potatoes are general purpose with a balance of
amylose and amylopectin starches - not ideal for baking or boiling but
they'll work well enough to get by. Good for stews where you want the
potatoes to break down just a little to thicken the stew, but stay mostly
intact.

Some classify them as a baking potato but I consider them on the
baking edge of the range of all-purpose potatoes. White Rose can pass
reasonably well for most cooking methods, but, unlike the thick skinned
russets, they are often wrapped in foil for baking. These are my favorites
for soups and stews. They hold together well enough but are soft enough to
provide some thickening, especially if you crush a few pieces. The skin
is very thin and the flesh is white.

California supplies most of the US crop, but some are grown in
Washington and Oregon. Their peak season is late spring and early summer.
Storage life is relatively short and they green easily. The photo
specimens were 4.8 inches long, 2.7 inches wide, 2 inches thick and
weighed 8-1/2 ounces - about average size for large ones.

Round, with a thin light tan skin, very shallow eyes and white flesh
with good flavor. A substantial crop is grown in California, ranking third
after White Rose and Russet Burbank, but I don't see them in markets in
Los Angeles. Pretty much the entire crop goes to restaurants and food
processors.

These were developed as a cold climate variety but have become very
popular with the chef set and food writers. Though nearly all recent
recipes call for them, I avoid them. I don't care for the flavor, the
color or their habit of turning to mush if cooked a little too long. They
have yellowish skins and light yellow flesh. The large photo specimen
(larger than most you will see), was 4.7 inches long and weighed 1
pound 1-1/2 ounces. The small ones are more typical of what you find in
supermarkets, the smallest being 2.3 inches long and weighing 2-3/8
ounces.

One reason the chef set likes them so much is, if properly cooked, they
are fairly firm and not at all crumbly. This makes it possible to cut them
into very neat cubes and slices. Cook them a little too long and they
become mushy. The Yukon should not be used for baking where it is inferior
to the White Rose. Because of their current popularity other yellow
potatoes are sometimes palmed off as "Yukon Gold". Real Yukons have
shallow eyes which tend to be pinkish. Klondike Goldust is a widely
available similar potato for which the developer has licensed the Green
Giant brand.

Purple and Blue Potatoes
Purples are seen most consistently in markets serving Indian
communities but also appear in supermarkets and at Whole Foods Markets
(often cheaper than in the supers). Most blue and purple skinned
potatoes are blue or purple all the way through. The photo specimens were
4.4 inches long and 2.2 inches wide, weighing 6-1/2 ounces From the white
ring under the skin I suspect these are variety "All Blue".

These potatoes must be cooked carefully because they get mushy if
overcooked. Microwaving is said to be the best way to preserve color,
but I find it survives boiling quite well. They are a good accent as
mashed potatoes or in potato salads but have a little less flavor
than red, white or yellow varieties.

Fingerling Potatoes
Small very elongated heirloom potatoes between 2 and 4 inches long. These
are fully mature potatoes, not early harvest of immature. They can generally
be found in the supermarkets in bags of mixed colors, but Whole Foods
sometimes has bags of a single type, usually Russian Banana (a yellow
potato).

Creamer Potatoes
Any type potatoes harvested when they are about 1 inch in diameter but
definitely less than 2 inches. They may be white or red. As with fingerling
potatoes, they sell at a premium price so are used in high profile dishes
where they are particularly obvious.

New Potatoes: - [Early Potatoes]
Properly, these are very young potatoes of any type with a high moisture
content and very thin paper-like skin that's easily flaked off. Potatoes of
this description are available seasonally in potato growing areas.

Due to extra care in harvesting new potatoes are expensive, but are much
in demand. They are usually used whole in very simple recipes where their
flavor will not be concealed, usually cooked by roasting or steaming. They
are quite perishable and should be used within a few days

The term "new potato" has been somewhat degraded, mainly because so many
recipes call for them even though they're not readily available.
Many people don't know that "new potato" means anything except "small",
but small mature potatoes are properly Creamers, not
"new".

The potato's reputation for being fattening is not so much from the
potatoes themselves (not much more so than apples), but the oils,
butters and sour cream they are often cooked in or eaten with. Potatoes
contain no fat or cholesterol.

Potatoes are about 75% water and 19% complex carbohydrates, and are
sufficiently nutritious a person could maintain good health on a diet
of just potatoes and milk (for vitamins A and D). A fair amount of the
vitamin and mineral content is near the surface, but more than half is
distributed throughout the interior.

Vitamins and Minerals: Potatoes are high in vitamin C, to
the extent Spanish and French sailors consumed potatoes to ward off scurvy
just as British sailors consumed lime juice and the Germans sauerkraut.
They are also fairly rich in vitamin B6 and contain significant amounts
of Thiamine, Niacin, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium. Potatoes
contain more potassium than any other common vegetable, or even bananas.
Potassium mitigates the effects of sodium in salt.

Protein: Potatoes are about 2% protein and that protein
is a very balanced mix of amino acids. The protein is almost all right
under the skin so to take advantage of this nutrient potatoes should be
cooked skin-on and eaten whole or with just the papery skin removed after
cooking.

Dietary Fiber: Fiber is provided mainly by the skin, but
the flesh contains an indigestible starch which provides the same benefits.
This form of starch in a cooked potato is about 7% but if the potato is
allowed to cool it will increase to about 13%.

Toxicity: Despite assurances by the Michio Kushi
Macrobiotics folks that potatoes will send you to an early grave,
demographics do not support this claim. The foliage and fruit of the
potato plant do contain significant levels of the powerful neurotoxin
solanine, and this toxin is not destroyed by normal cooking. The root
tubers of domestic potatoes contain very little solanine and new
varieties are tested for this.

The amount of toxin in a potato may increase if it is exposed to light
and turns green, but this is not a reliable indicator. Bitterness is a
better indicator as Solanine is an alkaloid. Greening can occur without
significant increase in toxicity and toxicity can be present without
greening. Diseased potatoes or those showing decay may have elevated
levels of solanine and should be discarded. Individual tolerance is said
to vary, but I've eaten plenty of lightly greenish potatoes without ill
effect and no cases of potato poisoning have been reported for about
50 years.

Acrylamide: This substance was detected in fried potato
products in Sweden in 2002. It is not unique to potatoes but occurs in all
high carbohydrate foods when heated, like toast, for instance. It has been
in our food since the invention of cooking.

Acrylamide has been shown to cause cancer in some laboratory animals
when they are fed massive doses of it over a period of time. Whether there
is any danger to humans in the dosages we're likely to consume is totally
unknown, to the extent health authorities are unable to provide meaningful
warnings or set limits.

If you are concerned about acrylamide and want to minimize your exposure
without seriously compromising the range of flavors in your food, you should
brown your carbohydrate containing foods to a light golden color rather than
darker. Toast should be toasted to the minimum color acceptable and the same
for rice, corn and potato products.